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As he looked into the viewfinder of a camera held by a man sitting in front of him, the father of a 9-year-old cheerleader became alarmed that something unseemly was taking place as his daughter and her teammates took part in a contest at the Alamodome.

Troy Harrison of Houston and other cheer parents summoned a San Antonio police officer to watch the footage Sunday, and the officer arrested convicted sex offender Andrew Sanchez III, 60, on one count of improper photography.

Sanchez was released from jail Monday afternoon after posting $7,500 bail.

Harrison said he and other parents sat near Sanchez, who had a two-day wristband and was sitting in the second row while focusing on their daughters, members of the All Star Revolution. The 30-member squad was one of several that competed — and a select few that won first place — in this weekend's American Cheer Power Southern National Championship.

“I saw him zoom in on a place of a girl he shouldn't have been zooming into, and he started ... recording,” Harrison said. “I realized that this guy was filming little girls.”

A few songs later, Harrison and another parent flagged down the police officer, who was working security at the event. The uniformed officer then stood next to Harrison and witnessed the man “zooming in his video camera on young girls' pelvic areas,” the incident report states.

Harrison said he was horrified to later hear that the man was a registered sex offender. In 2008, Sanchez was convicted of possession of child pornography and sentenced to three years.

“Everyone's so worried about us not bringing in outside food or drinks, but anyone can pay $20 and get a wristband,” he said. “But you can't do a background check on every person coming in. I just never thought I'd be in a position to catch someone doing that.”